Font Types For Logos

Pick a font for your company’s logo that reflects its brand.

Marshall McLuhan once said, “The medium is the message.” With logos, the font is the message. Advertisers and companies must use a font that onlookers will notice, but also one that symbolizes their philosophy and brand. Some fonts are hundreds of years old and have evolved into various subtypes; others have been created in the last few decades and are just beginning to make their mark.

Helvetica

Just Creative Design claims that Helvetica is the most popular font choice for graphic designers. According to Web Designers Depot, the font is over 50 years old and is sans-serif, meaning it lacks the additional short lines connected to a letter’s main strokes. It has several sub-types with different compressions, weights and curves. Major companies that used Helvetica for their logos include Nestle, Jeep, Crate & Barrel, Dole, Harley-Davidson and Energizer.

Futura

Futura is commonly used for text headlines as well as in corporate displays, on movie posters and as part of logos. The font is sans-serif and its letters are based on geometric shapes. Hewlett-Packard and Calvin Klein have used Futura font in their magazine advertisements. IKEA originally used the font for its logo, but switched to Verdana.

Bodoni

The Bodoni font is over 200 years old, says “Quay” magazine. Unlike Futura and Helvetica, it has horizontal serifs; each letter has a combination of thick and thin strokes. Bodoni is used for logos and also headline text. The logos for Calvin Klein and Ann Taylor, and posters for “Mamma Mia,” the musical, have used the Bodoni font.

Gotham

Gotham is a relatively new font and was created in 2000 for “GQ” magazine. Its letters are geometric and lack serifs. It has been used for logos on Coca-Cola and Crest packages and is often incorporated in urban signage, like for the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal. Its clear and striking style was used for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign signs in 2008.